


Succedaneum

by yikeslikenikes



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Accepting Parent, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Alternate Universe - Wizards, Angst with a Happy Ending, But not because they are gay but because Minhyuk is going through it, Fantasy setting, Fluff, Hyungwon Bingo, Lee Minhyuk (Monsta X)-centric, Love Confessions, M/M, Magic, Mistaken Identity, Prince Chae Hyungwon, Secret Relationship, Strangers to Lovers, Time Skips, Wizard Lee Minhyuk, past loss of parent(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:54:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24973414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yikeslikenikes/pseuds/yikeslikenikes
Summary: Minhyuk blinks, shocked at the title. He turns to correct him, but the guard is already heading back to his post. Minhyuk groans and rubs the bridge of his nose. Of course they had assumed he was the Great Wizard himself.
Relationships: Chae Hyungwon/Lee Minhyuk
Comments: 11
Kudos: 91
Collections: Hyungwon Bingo: Round 2





	Succedaneum

**Author's Note:**

> For the letter square in Hyungwon Bingo!

“And what is your business in the capital, wizard?” The guard asks. 

Minhyuk holds back a sigh. The towering walls of Hae-do, the glimmering capital of Manna, stood before him, an annoying obstacle in his way. He reaches into his pocket and takes out the rolled up piece of parchment before he unrolls it. 

“I'm here to see the prince,” Minhyuk says as he holds the letter out to the guard. He watches as he reads it over with ever widening eyes. 

He’s read it himself about a hundred times on the journey here. Ever since he found the body of the Great Wizard of San-do on the road, and this letter on his person, he knew he had to come break the sad news to the prince. 

He could even recite the letter out to the guard by now. 

_ “Great Wizard of San-do,  _

_ I know that you do not know me, but I am in need of your help. The kingdom is in need of your help. My father, King Chae Hyungtae, is ill. We have tried everything in our power to help him, but I fear that nothing has helped. We were told to ask for you. The healing magic of San-do is renowned, and that is owed to you.  _

_ Please, I beg of you, come to the capital and see if you can help my father. I fear if this goes on for too long, he may never recover. We will provide room and board and ample reward if you are able to heal him.  _

_ Regards,  _

_ Prince Chae Hyungwon of Manna” _

Even if Minhyuk wants to help, what he hates the most is being the bearer of bad news, even if it is necessary. The prince needs to know that the Great Wizard is never going to make it because he passed on the journey here. He just hates that he was the one to stumble upon the old wizard. 

“I’ll take you to the castle myself,” the guard says as he hands the letter back to Minhyuk. Minhyuk smiles as he takes it back. 

“Oh, thank you, but that isn't necessary--”

“Nonsense. Come with me. His highness will want to speak with you immediately.”

Minhyuk wonders how bad off the king must be as he mounts his horse again and spurs him on after the guard as he mounts his horse. They pass the city walls and move quickly down the bustling streets towards the giant castle in the center of it all. 

At least the city is still busy despite the king’s illness. 

When they arrive at the castle gates, they pause only long enough so that the guard guiding him can tell the castle guards something. Minhyuk isn’t paying much attention. He’s too busy trying to figure out how he’s going to explain what happened to the wizard as delicately as possible.

Once inside the gates, a servant comes up to them to take their horses, and Minhyuk frowns, not intending on staying too long, but he doesn’t have the heart to wave him away. He dismounts, landing easily on his feet, and takes his bag from the horse’s saddle before the guard is guiding him toward the large castle doors. 

“The prince is being notified of your arrival. He’s hardly left his father’s side, or so we’ve heard, but I’m sure he’ll be down quickly to greet you,” he says. 

“I didn’t expect him to come himself,” Minhyuk says. 

“Of course he would. You’re an honored guest, Great Wizard.”

Minhyuk blinks, shocked at the title. He turns to correct him, but the guard is already heading back to his post. Minhyuk groans and rubs the bridge of his nose. Of course they had assumed he was the Great Wizard himself. 

_ Hells. What did you expect when you always go about forgetting to introduce yourself? _

He paces around the front hall, redoing his whole speech in his head to apologize for the confusion and try to make things better. He doesn’t know the prince, but he knows what it feels like to have your hopes dashed away in a moment, and he isn’t very happy about having to do that to anyone. Let alone the crown prince himself. 

“You’ve come, oh thank the heavens.”

Minhyuk turns to see a young man walking towards him, and his breath leaves him. 

The prince is tall. He’d describe him as more beautiful than handsome, his lips full and pouty and his face small and delicate. Round despite his slender body. And he isn’t dressed like a prince, not right then. He’s just wearing a simple wool shirt and pants.

But past the beauty, the delicate and quick way he walks over to him, Minhyuk can see the dark circles around his eyes. The swollen eyelids. He stares for a moment before he remembers himself and bows. 

“Your highness,” Minhyuk says. 

“Please rise,” the prince says. 

Minhyuk straightens and clears his throat. 

“I must apologize, your highness--”

“Don’t. There is nothing to apologize for. You’ve come quite quickly all things considered.”

“No, your highness, I’m sorry, but--”

Minhyuk stops when the prince’s eyes widen with panic. He’s never seen someone so gripped by it before. And as he tries to collect himself, the prince surprises him again by lowering down to his knees in front of him and taking his hands.

“Please help me, ser,” the prince croaks out. He grips at Minhyuk’s hands so tightly it almost hurts, but Minhyuk doesn’t dare pull away. 

“You...you came all this way already. Won’t you just at least take a look at him? Please, ser, I’m...I can’t lose him. Not yet. I...I’m not ready. Please help me. Please. I’m just...you’re my only hope now,” the prince says. His voice sounds like a waterfall breaking over rocks at the bottom of a cliff. It should be powerful, but it’s still just shattering. 

And Minhyuk knows he is no so-called great wizard, but he is from San-do, and he is a wizard. He’s always had a soft heart. How could he deny a desperate man like this? Especially a prince? 

He squeezes the prince’s hands and gets down in front of him. 

“Okay. Alright. Take me to him, your highness, and I will do my best,” Minhyuk says. 

The prince sighs and shuts his eyes, pulling Minhyuk’s hands to his chest. 

“Thank you, ser,” he whispers out. 

“You can just call me Minhyuk, your highness,” Minhyuk says. He gets up and helps the prince to his feet. 

“And you can just call me Hyungwon. Now come along. I’ll take you to him.”

Minhyuk thinks of the man that wrote that sad letter, and he can definitely see the desperation he read there in Hyungwon. From the way he grips just a bit too hard onto his hand, and the way his steps are always hurried, always quickening, it is only too obvious how upset he is. This is a man terrified of losing someone dear to them. A man. Not a prince. 

In times like this, he always found that people forget themselves. Everyone is the same in the face of sheer desperation.

He follows Hyungwon up some stairs and through halls before they get to some grand doors at the end of a hall, and then they stop.

“He...he’s very weak, but he can speak to you if you ask him questions,” Hyungwon says. 

Minhyuk nods. Takes a deep breath as Hyungwon drops his hand to open the door. 

The room is kept dark, he assumes, because the light bothers the king. He waits at the door as Hyungwon walks into the room and falls into the stool at his father’s side. 

There is something delicate in the way he takes his hand gently and smiles down at him. As if he hasn’t been crying over him. 

“Father, the Great Wizard has arrived to see if he can help,” Hyungwon says softly. 

The king isn’t old enough to be laying in bed sick the way he is. The only lines on his face are those that come from smiling too much. A few lines at the corners of his eyes. A slight wrinkle between his brows. Yet when he pushes himself up onto his elbows to greet Minhyuk, Hyungwon has to help push him up like all the strength has left his body. He groans and pants as he falls back, reclined against his pillows, and Minhyuk hurries to bow. He’s always forgetting to bow.

“Your majesty,” Minhyuk says as he bows.

“You may enter,” the king says. His voice sounds hoarse, and it ends with a dry cough that makes Hyungwon shudder slightly. Minhyuk straightens and pulls his bag up on his shoulder before he walks over to the side of the bed opposite of Hyungwon. 

“I’m sorry, your majesty, but I don’t know much about what has happened to you. I know that it started a few months ago. I can see that you are feeling weak, and that cough is a bit bad,” Minhyuk says. He doesn’t say what is immediately on his mind. That this is no ordinary illness. The symptoms already seem too vague. Too varied to be anything specific that he’s heard of in his travels. 

“That is all true, ser wizard,” the king says. 

“Minhyuk, your majesty. You don’t have to keep formalities with me.”

The king smiles, and it seems to bring some life back into him. In the corner of his eye, he can see Hyungwon smile too, and he can see the resemblance. A handsome king and his handsome son. 

“Minhyuk, then. It all started two months ago with some dizziness, and a cough, and then suddenly I was bedridden with none of my doctors knowing what could have happened,” the king says. 

Minhyuk nods along, his eyes quick as he looks over the king in his bed. There is something strange if the doctor’s can’t figure out what’s wrong with him. Maybe not a disease of the flesh. 

“Before the dizziness, do you remember what you were doing?” Minhyuk asks.

He turns to look at the king again. His eyes are dark, and in this lighting he can’t quite make anything out of them. 

“Oh, I think we had just finished dinner,” Hyungwon says. 

Minhyuk squints, trying to get a better look at his eyes. 

“That’s right, we had just finished dinner, and I had gotten up to go to my study,” the king says. 

“Does the light bother you, your majesty?” Minhyuk asks. 

“It does. He can’t stand for the windows to be opened,” Hyungwon says. 

Minhyuk hums and drops his bag to the ground. 

“Your majesty, forgive me,” Minhyuk says. 

“Forgive you? Whatever for?”

Minhyuk might get executed for treason, but he had to at least try. He kneels onto the bed and reaches out, using his thumb to push the king’s eyelid open.

“Minhyuk!” Hyungwon says, standing up.

Minhyuk waves his other hand toward him, pushing him back a few feet, and then he swings his hand out, throwing the curtains open and the guards coming toward him back. 

The king hisses, his other eye shutting against the light, but his other eye, that one is telling. 

Minhyuk can see the swirling mist behind his eyes. Dark magic filling him. 

“My bag, Hyungwon,” Minhyuk says, glancing over at him.

“Minhyuk--”

“Do you want to save your father or not?” Minhyuk says back. 

Hyungwon shuts his mouth tight before he hurries over to his side, picking his bag up from the floor and dropping it onto the bed next to him.

“What are you going to do to him?” Hyungwon asks. 

Minhyuk lets go of the king and reaches into his bag. “Your father’s doctors could not find what is ailing him because they don’t have the eyes to see it.”

“What?” 

Minhyuk pulls out a clear crystal and sighs as he squeezes it in his hand. 

“Only wizards can see dark magic in someone’s veins. In their eyes,” Minhyuk explains. 

“Dark...magic?” Hyungwon says softly. 

It wouldn’t have taken a great wizard to figure it out. It would have just taken a half-decent one that knew what to look for. Minhyuk sighs as he turns back to the king and presses the crystal against his forehead. 

“Again, forgive me, your majesty, but this will all be over soon,” Minhyuk says. 

“Minhyuk, he’ll be alright, won’t he? Minhyuk?” Hyungwon asks. 

Minhyuk licks his lips. 

_ I sure hope so. _

He closes his eyes and focuses all his energy into his palm, into the crystal, and the king groans a bit as Minhyuk feels another energy warm the crystal against him. Minhyuk grits his teeth against the burn to keep pulling, focusing on drawing the darkness filling him. 

“Oh, heavens,” Hyungwon whispers out somewhere behind him. 

Minhyuk sucks in a breath when he doesn’t feel a resistance anymore, and he opens his eyes and sits back, pulling the crystal away, tucked into the palm of his hand. He watches and waits. 

It takes a moment for the king to slowly open his eyes and look back at him. Minhyuk smiles when he sees that his eyes are clear of it now. No swirling darkness hidden away behind them anymore. 

“Father?” Hyungwon asks. 

Minhyuk blinks and moves away, letting Hyungwon get close to his father as he takes his bag and stands. Glancing down at the crystal in his hand, it’s filled with black now, and he feels relieved knowing that it actually worked. 

“What did you do?” 

Minhyuk blinks up and sees the king sitting up in bed now, not having to recline back. Hyungwon is smiling as he grips into his father’s hand, and it isn’t delicate anymore. It’s strong like he isn’t afraid he’ll break anymore. 

“I’m sorry?” Minhyuk asks.

“What did you do?” the king asks. It isn’t accusatory. Just amazed. 

Minhyuk swallows. 

“It seems someone had put a curse on you. Dark magic. Nasty stuff.” He holds the crystal up so they can see it. 

“A curse?” Hyungwon says, his smile faltering. 

Minhyuk nods. “I don’t know who, but that’s what happened. It was easy enough to draw it out though.”

“And the crystal?” the king asks.

“It’ll keep it contained. It might take a day or two for your full strength to return, but you should be cured now,” Minhyuk says. 

Hyungwon stands up and walks over to him, steps still hurried. “Stay for dinner. It’s a long road back to San-do, and it’s getting late. There’s your reward to collect, but I’m sure dinner and a place to rest your head for the night won’t be a misplaced offer.”

“Oh, your highness, that it isn’t necessary--”

“For the Great Wizard of San-do, it is the least we can do,” the king calls from his bed. Minhyuk bites the inside of his cheek. He can’t very well correct a king. And food and a bed both sound good. Minhyuk hasn’t slept in a real bed in days. 

“You honor me,” Minhyuk says. 

Hyungwon smiles. “Good! Guards, show him to one of the guest rooms. I’m sure he wants to rest after his long journey here.”

“Your highness--”

“We’ll see you at dinner,” Hyungwon says. 

Minhyuk knows a dismissal when he hears one. He bows to Hyungwon and then to the king before he turns and follows one of the guards out and back through the palace. 

Just one night. He can deal with lying about his identity for just a night. By this time tomorrow, he’ll be on his way out of Hae-do, the king will live many more happy and healthy years, and no one will ever think twice about him again. 

“San-do is lovely this time of year, I hear,” the king says. 

Minhyuk gulps down some more wine before he answers. 

“It is. Though, I'm rarely ever there,” Minhyuk says. 

“Really? I thought you were a hermit up in your mountain and never left,” Hyungwon says. 

_ Hells. _

“Yes, well, that's what everyone thinks, but I prefer to travel. To wander about anonymously,” Minhyuk says. 

“I see. It's lucky then, that you even received my son’s letter,” the king says. 

Minhyuk licks his lips and focuses on his food. “I guess it is.”

He eats because he’s hungry but mainly because he hopes that they won’t ask him any more questions. 

“I’m afraid that if you mean to leave tomorrow, you won't be able to gather your whole reward,” Hyungwon says. 

Minhyuk hums and wipes his mouth with a napkin. 

“I don’t need a grand reward, your highness,” he says.

“But it was promised. What will the people think if we cannot keep our promises?” the king asks. 

_ Hells.  _

“I see. I...I guess one more day could not hurt,” Minhyuk says.

The king grins before he stands. Minhyuk and Hyungwon hurry to their feet.

“I think I will be taking my leave for the night. I still feel a bit tired,” he says.

“Sleep well, father,” Hyungwon says. 

Minhyuk feels awkward as the king walks away, patting Hyungwon on the shoulder as he goes. He doesn’t even remember to bid the king good night. 

Sighing, he sinks back down into his chair as soon as the king is out of sight. 

“Minhyuk,” Hyungwon says softly.

Minhyuk looks up at him. “Yes?”

Hyungwon takes a deep breath. “Earlier, you said someone had cursed my father.”

Minhyuk nods.

“That’s the only way I could explain his illness.”

Hyungwon nods and looks down at his empty plate before he takes a breath and straightens up a bit. 

“Then, I have to humbly ask you to stay for longer than just a few days.”

_ Hells hells hells. _

“Your highness, I can’t.”

“Whoever did this to him could do it again. And I don’t want to risk you not reaching him in time if it does.”

Minhyuk sighs. Words stick to the roof of his mouth as he tries to figure out how to tell him the truth. He isn’t who the prince thinks he is. He helped, sure, but he was there, sharing a meal with him, under false pretenses.

“Your highness--”

“Hyungwon,” he corrects.

Minhyuk licks his lips. “Hyungwon, I’m flattered, but there are other wizards.”

“Not all of them are called great wizards.”

“They don’t have to be to do what I did.”

Hyungwon huffs. “And what happens if it’s worse? What if the person that did this wants to make sure it works next time? What if a lesser wizard can’t do it? What if we have less time?”

Minhyuk bites his lip. 

“What are you asking me then?” he says softly.

“Stay here. We would give you room and board. Space to work on your magic. Whatever you want. At least until we can find whoever has done this. You said you don’t even stay at your home in San-do, so why not just stay here?”

Minhyuk shuts his eyes.

“Great wizard is a title, Hyungwon. Any wizard that is out of apprenticeship could take my place.”

“But you earned the title. We spent weeks trying to find out what was wrong and a cure, and you figured it out in a manner of minutes.”

“Well--”

“Please don’t make me beg again.”

Minhyuk looks at Hyungwon. He looks exhausted, head hung a bit, eyes still a bit heavy from the weeks of stress.

Cursing himself for the fool he is, Minhyuk sighs. 

“You don’t have to beg me for anything, Hyungwon. I’ll stay. At least until whoever did this is caught,” Minhyuk says. 

Hyungwon’s smile shines brighter than Minhyuk has seen it. 

“Thank you, Great Wizard--”

“Just. Don’t call me that. I’m just Minhyuk.”

Hyungwon laughs a bit. “I never imagined you’d be so humble.”

Minhyuk tries to smile. He isn’t a liar. He never once claimed to be someone he isn’t. The prince just hadn’t given him a chance to correct him.

The truth didn’t matter much right then after all. Minhyuk would just tell him the truth tomorrow. He’d let Hyungwon rest easy for at least one night. 

One night comes and goes. 

A week comes and goes. 

Minhyuk stays. 

Every time he sees Hyungwon’s hopeful smile, he just can’t bring himself to say anything. 

He never thought of himself as a liar before. He still tries not to.

He does think he’s a soft-hearted fool though.

Especially for the prince. 

They eat every meal together. They go on walks together. When Minhyuk goes to check on the king, Hyungwon is there. It feels like the only time they spend apart is when they bathe and when they sleep. Even when Minhyuk is working on his craft, Hyungwon is hovering around, looking over his things with interest, asking him questions about every little thing that pulls his attention. 

Minhyuk usually would find himself annoyed at the constant companionship. He traveled around precisely because it gave him space. Now he was anchored down with a prince following him around. 

But again, he’s a soft-hearted fool. More soft-hearted and more foolish than he ever thought he would be. 

“What are you doing with that?” Hyungwon asks. 

Minhyuk looks up from the crystal he used to help the king and puts it down carefully on the table. 

“You want to find out who did this to your father, right?” Minhyuk asks.

Hyungwon’s face grows serious as he sits down in front of him. 

“Of course.”

“I thought maybe I could get some information from this.”

Hyungwon’s eyes widen a bit and he looks down at the crystal. 

“Are you going to be using some sort of powerful magic for this?” Hyungwon asks.

Minhyuk bites the inside of his cheek. “It’s not that special.”

“You know, it surprises me how humble you remain, great wizard,” Hyungwon says. 

“I told you not to call me that,” Minhyuk whines. 

Hyungwon laughs and leans back in his chair, and Minhyuk glances back up at him, watching his face light up. He is even more beautiful when he smiled. It makes his heart thud deeply in his chest. 

_ Heeeeells. _

Minhyuk gets up and goes to grab his scrying mirror. He had placed it at his window under the full moon to help clean it all night, and he’s careful as he lays it down on the table next to the crystal. 

Hyungwon straightens a bit as he looks over it. 

“I've never seen someone scry in real life before,” Hyungwon says. Minhyuk bites his lip as he walks over to take two candles from his bag and move it over to the table next to the mirror. 

“You’re staying?” He asks. 

Hyungwon looks up at him. “Oh! Am I...should I leave? I didn't mean to intrude--”

“You can stay if you wish. It doesn't bother me,” Minhyuk quickly says. 

Hyungwon lets out a little sigh and smiles. 

“Okay. Good. I really don't mean to be in the way. It's just...when will I ever have the chance to watch a wizard like you at work again?”

Minhyuk ignores his last comment as he lights the candles before going to close the curtains on the window, bringing the room into darkness except for the light of the flickering candles. He walks back over and sits back down, glancing up for a moment at Hyungwon’s face, lit up by candle light. 

“I do ask that you be silent for a moment while I concentrate,” Minhyuk says. 

Hyungwon nods, understanding. He holds his hands together in his lap, cautious as he looks over the table in front of him. 

Minhyuk takes a deep breath before he pulls his mirror closer to him. It's a plain thing. No ornate frame around it. Just a circle about the size of his face. He takes another breath before he puts the crystal in the center of it. 

Delicately, he puts his hands down around it, placing just the tips of his thumbs and his forefingers on the edges of it. 

_ Show me. _

Minhyuk’s vision goes dark as light floods the room from the mirror, and he searches through the fog for something. Anything. A hint. A trace. 

But the fog is too dense and deep and all Minhyuk can see is the darkness. 

He groans as he tugs his hand away and opens his eyes. He's too annoyed to get up, so he waves his hand behind him to open the curtains up again. 

“I didn't see anything. This person that did this knows what they're doing, unfortunately,” Minhyuk says. He looks up and stops at the expression on Hyungwon’s face. 

“What?” He asks. 

“I just… didn't know that's how scrying worked,” Hyungwon says. He looks struck still, eyes wide as he stares at Minhyuk. 

The first time Minhyuk saw someone scry, he was a child, and it had scared him. The mirror had lit up like fire, and the wizard’s eyes had lit up the same way. Body vacant as his soul travelled elsewhere. 

He shuts his eyes. He hadn't even warned Hyungwon. 

“I'm sorry, your highness. I should have told you how it worked or something--”

“No! Don't apologize. It was just…I was surprised is all.”

Minhyuk looks at him for a moment before he looks back down. 

“I see.”

“But go back to what you were saying. You didn't see anything?” Hyungwon asks. 

Minhyuk frowns down at the black crystal. “All I can tell you is that this wasn't half-done. The person that sent this spell is powerful and knows what they're doing. They know how to do magic without a trace of themselves on it.”

“Is that rare?” 

“It is because most magic-users would want their signature on their magic. We like getting credit for our work. But it can be learned.”

“Can you do magic like that?”

Minhyuk nods. “My mentor taught me. It’s a very sterile way of doing magic. No emotion. It's difficult but not impossible.”

“Isn't magic emotional?” Hyungwon asks. 

Minhyuk smiles at him. “You know a lot about magic, your highness.”

Hyungwon smiles a bit shyly. “I just was curious and read a lot about it.”

“Ah, I see. And you aren’t magically inclined yourself?”

“No. Of course not. Although, when I was a child, I used to try. I’d go to the garden and pick up stones that I swore called out to me and wished and wished and wished on them hoping something, anything would happen.”

They both laugh, and Minhyuk can just imagine it. A tiny prince wishing he had just a hint of magic in him after hearing fantastical stories of wizards and spells. 

“And what did you wish for on those stones?” Minhyuk asks. 

Hyungwon smiles at him, and it seems almost a bit sad. 

“Well, at first it was for a little brother, but then that never happened. Then it was for my mother to get better.”

The smile slips right off of Minhyuk’s face.

“Your highness--”

“Obviously, that didn’t work either,” Hyungwon says. He’s still smiling. It’s still sad.

“I apologize, your highness. I shouldn’t have pried,” Minhyuk says. 

“Don’t apologize. It happened a long time ago, and at least I had my father. I didn’t lose everything.”

Minhyuk bites on his lip. He knows he shouldn’t, but when has that ever stopped him before. He reaches across the table and puts his hand on top of Hyungwon’s. The prince looks up at him, surprised, but he doesn’t pull away. 

“I understand. You don’t have to lose everything to lose a lot,” Minhyuk says softly.

Something seems to soften in the prince. Some upright pride that deflates for a moment. He puts his other hand over Minhyuk’s and squeezes it before he pulls both his hands away. 

“I thought I told you to stop calling me your highness,” Hyungwon says.

“And I thought I told you to stop calling me great wizard.”

Hyungwon snorts and rubs at his face. 

“I should leave you to your work. Father wouldn’t be pleased if he thought I was distracting you.”

“You are always welcome in my workshop, Hyungwon.”

Hyungwon smiles before he gets up. Minhyuk stands up and bows as he should because not even he is that foolish. 

“I’ll see you soon, Minhyuk,” Hyungwon says. 

He slips out of the room like a soft sigh, and Minhyuk sinks back in his chair and shuts his eyes. 

_ Hells, I must be the biggest fool to ever live.  _

Two weeks come and go. 

Two months come and go. 

Minhyuk feels like he’s setting up a home there now. A home that isn’t fully his. A home that will never fully belong to him. A home that he doesn’t know how to define. 

Sometimes, though, he can ignore how wrong this all is. He is the most soft-hearted fool in the world, but that was all because of one man. Prince Chae Hyungwon. 

Sure, he is fond of kind King Hyungtae who always smiled at him and asked him how his day was going and always seemed genuinely interested in what he had to say. The young lords that he meets that call themselves Hyungwon’s friends all shake his hand and bow and thank him for the amazing feat of magic he did in saving the king. Even the stable boys smile at him whenever he comes to visit his horse. 

But only the prince can capture his entire attention. Only the prince makes him let his guard down. Only the prince makes him forget about how this is the longest he’s ever spent in one place since those months after his apprenticeship, and that he is there under a pretense, and that he definitely doesn’t belong. 

Hyungwon makes him feel like he belongs. Like he is more than just Minhyuk. More than just a decent enough wizard that wandered around the country. 

Hyungwon looks at him like he hung the moon and stars. Like the sun rises and sets because Minhyuk lets it. Like he is actually a great wizard and not just a decent enough one. Like he deserves any of his attention at all. 

Two months becomes four. Four becomes eight. 

Minhyuk can’t believe he’s fallen in love with the prince, but he has. He lets his guard down for a moment, and it is staring at him in the face. All the late nights in his workshop where Hyungwon would laugh at all his jokes and talk about his childhood and share his secrets. All the walks around the garden where Hyungwon dutifully listened to Minhyuk explain which flowers were good for magic and which ones weren’t. All the times that they ride out to the outskirts of the city together and share little smiles that Minhyuk doesn't know how to interpret.

How could someone as indulgent as Minhyuk look at all of that and not want to stay? 

A part of Minhyuk, the smart part, knows that this only made him leaving more urgent. He has to go. He has to leave before this all becomes a lot worse. A lot harder to leave behind. 

He ponders all of this one night as he pages through an old spellbook of the Great Wizard’s. Hyungwon is reading through a different spellbook across from him at the table, skimming through for something that might help them figure out who tried to curse the king all those months ago. 

Minhyuk tries to convince himself that he is searching for them to finally be able to leave, and not because that is something that Hyungwon wants. 

“You know, I wonder why they haven’t tried again,” Hyungwon says. 

Minhyuk is pulled out of his thoughts and looks up at him. 

“What?”

“The people that put the spell on my father. Why haven’t they tried again?” 

Minhyuk frowns and clicks his tongue. 

“They might be regrouping. Thinking of a new strategy. Although…”

“Although?” Hyungwon asks. He lowers his book and looks at him curiously. 

“I worry. Sometimes spells call for certain times of year. Certain amount of time to build up. I worry that they’re waiting for something like that.”

Hyungwon bites his lip and squints back down at the book. 

“Would...you be able to stop that?” he asks. 

Minhyuk sighs and turns the page.

“I hope I can. I wish I could prevent it, but I can’t. We just have to wait for something to happen.”

“It does make me feel better at least. Knowing that you’re here.”

Minhyuk looks up at him, and Hyungwon isn’t looking up. Still staring down at the book. 

“I’m glad I can be of some comfort to you.” 

“How could you not be? I mean--”

“Hyungwon, don’t,” Minhyuk warns. It’s light. Friendly. More familiar than he should be with a crown prince. 

Hyungwon just flashes him a smile. He sighs and marks the page with a ribbon before he closes the book. 

“I think I’m going cross-eyed,” Hyungwon says. He rubs his eyes, and it’s delicate. Makes him look so tiny and adorable it tugs at Minhyuk’s chest.

_ Hells. _

“It is getting late. You should probably head off to bed,” Minhyuk says. He marks his own book before getting up, taking both of them in his arms and walking to his bookshelf to put them away. 

“I’m tired of reading, but you know I can’t go to sleep this early in the night as of late.”

Minhyuk hums as he turns around, glancing out the windows at the moon high in the sky. 

“Are you having trouble sleeping? I could make you something to help with that,” Minhyuk offers. 

“Hm. There’s more than just that,” Hyungwon says. 

Minhyuk frowns and walks back over to him. 

“Are you feeling ill?” He presses his wrist to Hyungwon’s forehead to feel for a fever, worry making his stomach clench. 

“In a way,” Hyungwon whispers. 

“You don’t feel warm,” Minhyuk says. He pulls his hand away and looks down at him. He isn’t warm, but he can see a slight flush starting on Hyungwon’s cheeks. His frown deepens as he tilts Hyungwon’s head up gently. “But you are flushed.”

Hyungwon huffs and waves Minhyuk away, and Minhyuk obliges. Drops his hand in a moment. 

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have just touched you like that,” Minhyuk says. 

Hyungwon rolls his eyes and grabs Minhyuk’s hand, and Minhyuk feels his stomach swoop for an entirely different reason. 

“As if that has been an issue,” Hyungwon says. 

“Still. I should have--”

“Don’t you want to hear the rest of my symptoms?” Hyungwon asks softly. He squeezes Minhyuk’s hand, and Minhyuk shuts up. He sinks down in the chair next to him and nods. Hyungwon laughs a bit.

“It’s a bit ridiculous. Sometimes my heart pounds in my chest when I’m not doing anything at all. You noticed the blushing? It happens all the time when I least expect it.”

Minhyuk bites his lip and takes him in. He doesn’t seem too bad. Maybe a bit tired and pink, but nothing too bad. 

“And then there’s these thoughts,” Hyungwon says softly. 

“Thoughts?” Minhyuk asks. 

Hyungwon nods. Leans a bit closer. Squeezes Minhyuk’s hand more. 

“I can’t seem to get you out of my head, ser wizard,” Hyungwon says softly.

_ Oh. Oh, hells.  _

“Hyungwon…”

“It’s quite the issue, actually. My friends are all starting to make fun of me,” Hyungwon says. 

He’s so close. Only a few inches away. Minhyuk aches. 

And then he closes the distance. 

Minhyuk remembers his mentor telling him that he had a brilliant mind for magic, but that he was too impulsive and rash with everything else. Minhyuk had rolled his eyes then. Now he understands that he had been all too correct. 

Minhyuk kisses Hyungwon, not because it’d be smart or because he thinks it’s the right thing to do. 

He kisses him because there is nothing on earth he wants more. 

Hyungwon kisses him back, pulling him closer. He drops his hand to reach up and tangle his fingers in Minhyuk’s hair, and Minhyuk moans against him.

Minhyuk loses time. He drops his hands on Hyungwon’s waist and holds him. He kisses him and kisses him, stealing every breath he takes. 

“Minhyuk,” Hyungwon whispers against him before he pulls away a bit just to press soft little kisses to his top lip. 

“What are we doing, Hyungwon?” Minhyuk whispers back. 

Hyungwon giggles. “I thought we were kissing.”

Minhyuk snorts and pulls away. “You know that's not what I meant.”

Hyungwon sighs and leans in and kisses Minhyuk again. Soft and quick. 

“What are you worried about?” he asks. 

Minhyuk stares at him. 

“Hyungwon, you can't be serious. You’re the _crown_ _prince_ ,” he whispers out. 

“And  _ you _ are the Great Wizard of San-do. A lofty title in and of itself. It's not like you're unworthy.”

Everything crackles to pieces inside of Minhyuk. 

“Hyungwon--”

“I know you don't like it, but that's your title. There isn't anything to worry about if--”

“If?”

“If you care about me the way I care about you.”

Hyungwon stares at him, and it’s so hopeful. His beautiful brown eyes looking right at Minhyuk. 

Minhyuk had gotten so used to people looking right through him his whole life, but Hyungwon always looks right at him. Sees him. Minhyuk reaches out and cups his cheek. 

“I do care about you, your highness. So very much.”

He could lie about many things but not about that. Never about that. 

Hyungwon smiles and rushes forward to kiss him again. Minhyuk kisses back and tries to shove away all the thoughts that bubble up in the back of his head. 

Hyungwon holds his fingers lightly, barely touching as they walk through the garden, and Minhyuk feels him squeeze them. 

It’s a beautiful day outside, only a few fluffy clouds rolling in the clear blue sky, and a light breeze passing by as they walk. 

“Do you want to go to the fish pond?” Hyungwon asks. 

Minhyuk grins and glances around. The gardens are empty except for them, but the fish pond is surrounded by thick trees. An even more private little place in an open area.

“I would like nothing more,” Minhyuk says. 

Hyungwon giggles and pulls him along the dirt path to the pond. They push aside some branches and go past the trees. They sit down on the ground under a tree, the shade making it nice and cool there. Hyungwon leans against his side and sighs, content. 

“It’s so nice and quiet here,” Hyungwon says. 

“It is,” Minhyuk says. 

Hyungwon turns his head up at him, and Minhyuk looks down at him. They both smile at each other. One of their secret smiles. And then Hyungwon tilts up and kisses him. 

Their kisses always start off this way. Soft. Tender. Smiles pressing together and molding around each other. Then they change. 

Minhyuk opens his mouth and sinks closer to Hyungwon, his hand coming up to caress his cheek. Hyungwon moans against him, tilting his head and deepening their kiss. 

This was one of the few places they felt safe kissing. The castle had too many people in it now that the kingdom had come back to life. They are, after all, still keeping this all a secret at Minhyuk’s request. He has never even step foot in Hyungwon’s bedroom. 

So the pond, Minhyuk’s workshop, and Minhyuk’s room late into the night, were the only places where they could be like this. As intimate as this. 

Hyungwon gasps as he pulls away, panting just a bit, hand on Minhyuk’s chest. Minhyuk smiles at him, also trying to catch his breath. 

“Do you use magic when you kiss me?” Hyungwon asks. 

Minhyuk laughs. “Definitely not.”

Smiling, Hyungwon lays his head against his shoulder again. “It isn’t fair then. You kiss that well with no magic or anything?”

“You kiss just as well, and you don’t have any magic either.”

Minhyuk wraps his arm around Hyungwon and loves how he seems to melt against his side. 

“Ah, that is true,” Hyungwon says.

“Did you finish telling me that story from earlier? The one about your father falling into this pond?” Minhyuk asks. 

“I did. Actually, I wanted to hear more about you. I feel like I’ve been blathering on and on about myself all this time. And you have told me about yourself, but...I feel like I just know the basics. You’re from San-do. You traveled around. You did your apprenticeship in another country. You became Great Wizard somewhere in there…” Hyungwon trails off. 

Minhyuk bites the inside of his cheek. 

“Right,” he says softly.

“So tell me more? Like...what were your parents like? Or the wizard that you did your apprenticeship under?”

Minhyuk has no idea how to mix this fake life with his real life, but he knows he has to try. 

“Well, I was born in San-do. Neither of my parents had magic, so they didn’t really know what to do with me.”

“Weren’t they proud though?”

Minhyuk hums. “They were. But they worried. We were very poor, so they didn’t think they’d be able to find me an apprenticeship.”

“Oh. I didn’t know that.”

Minhyuk pulls him closer. 

“It wasn’t anything terrible. We were happy except for that worry. And the wizard of San-do at the time had two apprentices already, so he couldn’t take me on.” He shrugs. “So I asked for the names of other wizards, and the first one to reply was in Haoh. So at the young age of ten, I packed up and moved.”

“By yourself?” Hyungwon asks, and he seems horrified. Minhyuk laughs a bit. 

“I was quite an independent child, but no. My parents came with me, though they didn’t stay for very long. They missed home. But we wrote to each other often, and they came to visit when they could.”

Hyungwon nods a bit, quiet and listening. 

“And so I did my apprenticeship, became a full-fledged wizard, and then I left Haoh to head back home.”

“That’s it? No fun stories from when you were learning magic?” Hyungwon asks. 

“Hm. Too many to tell, actually.”

Hyungwon laughs and nudges at him with his elbow, and Minhyuk smiles. 

“Fine, fine. What about your parents? Are they still living in San-do?” Hyungwon asks. 

The smile on Minhyuk’s face slips a bit, and Hyungwon’s eyes widen. 

“Oh. Oh, Minhyuk, I’m sorry if that was--”

“Don’t. It’s been years since they passed. And I was living with them then. We were happy. We always had food on the table. They always told me how proud they were of me. But time passes. People die. And there wasn’t much I could do to help. They weren’t sick or under some spell. Their time just came,” Minhyuk says softly. 

“I’m still sorry,” Hyungwon says.. 

Minhyuk smiles at him, shaking his head. “Don’t be. They lived a happy life. And then after I gave them their funeral rites, I started to wander the country. And then a few years later I ended up here.”

“Didn’t you have to complete some great magical feat to become  _ the _ Great Wizard, though?”

_ Hells.  _ He had forgotten about that part. 

“Well, that’s not the only way. A great magical feat never before seen, or simply just mastering a hundred different feats,” Minhyuk says. It was the truth of course. It just didn’t necessarily apply to him. 

At least, he doesn’t think it does. 

“Ah. So a hundred different magical feats. Can you even name them off the top of your head?” Hyungwon asks. 

Minhyuk huffs and digs his fingers into Hyungwon’s side, making him yelp and squirm and laugh. Minhyuk laughs as Hyungwon rolls away from him, smacking lightly at his hands. 

“Minhyuk!” He yells, and it’s slightly breathless. 

Grinning, Minhyuk leans back against the tree. 

“Why, your highness. I don’t think it would look very good if you’re calling my name so loudly. What if someone comes and finds you looking like this?” 

Hyungwon freezes and looks down at himself. His clothes slightly dirtied and out of place now that he had rolled on the ground. He pouts when he looks back up at him. 

“That isn’t fair,” Hyungwon says. 

Minhyuk snorts and holds his hands out to him. 

“Come here, I’ll clean you up,” he says. 

A slow smile appears on Hyungwon’s face as he stands up and steps closer to him. Minhyuk smiles and reaches up to straighten out his clothes before he waves his hands over him to get rid of all the dirt covering him. When he finishes, Hyungwon grabs onto his hands. 

“Minhyuk, I think we should tell my father,” he says. 

Minhyuk blinks up at him, startled. 

“Tell him...what?” he croaks out. 

Hyungwon laughs, but Minhyuk can’t seem to find the humor in it. 

“About us, of course. I know that you’re nervous or scared, but I promise he isn’t what you think. He won’t be angry. I mean, he just wants me to be happy,” Hyungwon says. 

_ Now you’ve done it, Minhyuk. Hells, you are the most foolish, stupid, ridiculous, impulsive-- _

“But it isn’t just him. It’s all your friends and the people of the kingdom. Hyungwon, you heard my story.”

“There is nothing about your story that--”

“Nothing? Really? I was born a poor peasant boy. I didn’t even become a full-fledged wizard in the kingdom,” Minhyuk says. 

Hyungwon huffs and gets down on his knees in front of him and brings Minhyuk’s hands to his chest, holding them close. 

“So? Look at you now. You’re the Great Wizard of San-do. You saved the king’s life. No one could dare say something ill about us. Born a peasant or not, you have a title now,” Hyungwon says. 

Minhyuk looks down, not able to meet his eyes. But then he feels Hyungwon touch his cheek, and Minhyuk glances back up at him. 

“And even if you didn’t, I wouldn’t care. I wouldn’t care because...because I love you, Minhyuk.”

And if the world was a feather that Minhyuk traipsed upon, it was suddenly caught in a storm, threatening to tear it apart. The only solid thing was Hyungwon’s hand on his cheek. 

When Minhyuk blinks, his vision goes blurry. And there’s nothing he can say to fix the mess he’s gotten himself in. He knows it’s a mistake. That this whole thing has only been one giant mistake. 

And yet there is only one thing he can say. 

“I love you too, Hyungwon,” Minhyuk whispers out. 

Hyungwon beams, his whole face lighting up from the inside out, and Minhyuk has never hated himself more than in that moment. 

“I know you get nervous, but we can tell him together when you’re ready,” Hyungwon says. Minhyuk just nods and pulls Hyungwon closer because that’s the only thing that feels real. Hyungwon smiles and leans closer and kisses him. 

It is far too late to run away now, but Minhyuk has never wanted to run more. 

Minhyuk clings to Hyungwon more than ever. As soon as he walks into his workshop, Minhyuk is gathering him up in his arms and kissing him until Hyungwon is laughing, breathless and happy against him. Minhyuk doesn’t laugh much though. He’s too full of his own lie to do something as simple as laugh.   
Hyungwon senses that there’s something wrong, but he never pushes him on it, probably assuming it’s just how nervous he is. He just lets Minhyuk hold him and holds him back, his soft lips always pressing endless kisses against his face. 

It’s easy to forget in his arms. That he is nothing at all. He was nothing more than a poor succedaneum, a substitute, for a wizard greater than him, for a man that would be better than him, more deserving of the prince’s attention and affection. At least one that didn’t start a whole relationship on the tightrope of a lie. 

Hyungwon deserved better than a soft-hearted fool of a wizard. 

But Minhyuk would push all those thoughts away when they were kissing, so he kisses him often. As often as he could. 

It serves a dual purpose. 

It keeps everything in Minhyuk calm, but it also keeps Hyungwon from asking him if he is ready yet to tell his father. Minhyuk fears, no, he  _ knows _ , that he could probably never face the king. He would probably die of shame if he even tried. 

But one day Hyungwon pulls away and presses his hands to his chest to stop him from chasing after him, and Minhyuk knows that there is no avoiding it anymore. 

“Have you given thought about when we should tell my father?” Hyungwon asks.

Minhyuk sighs and pulls away. 

_ Almost a year. You got almost a year with him. Stop being greedy and tell him the truth. End it. There’s no other way. _

“Minhyuk?” Hyungwon asks. 

Minhyuk looks at him, and everything hurts and aches all the way down into the bones. 

“Hyungwon...I love you so much,” Minhyuk croaks out. 

Hyungown’s face twists up in concern, his hands coming up to hold Minhyuk’s face.

“I love you too, but what is it? Why do you look like you’re about to cry?” 

Minhyuk sucks in a breath and takes Hyungwon’s hands in his. He ignores how he’s shaking. 

“I...I have to tell you something. I should have told you a long time ago, but...I can’t put it off anymore,” Minhyuk says softly. 

Hyungwon squeezes his hands, reassuring and solid and there. 

“What is it, love?” Hyungwon says softly. 

Tears flood Minhyuk’s eyes, and he can’t meet Hyungwon’s gaze. He stares down at the space between them. 

“I don’t even know where to start. This is all just...a huge misunderstanding, and I never meant for it to go on for so long, but I kept staying longer and longer and then…”

Hyungwon doesn’t say anything. He just listens. Intertwines their hands together. Minhyuk sighs and looks back up at him. 

“I fell in love with you,” Minhyuk finishes. 

Hyungwon smiles a bit. 

“I fell in love with you too.”

“And I am so glad to have met you and been with you,” Minhyuk says. 

Hyungwon nods a bit. 

“But?” Hyungwon prompts.

This is it. The end. And Minhyuk aches more than he ever thought possible. No kind of magic would ever be able to fix this. 

“Hyungwon, when I came here all those months ago, it was to deliver a message for the Great Wizard of San-do. I found him on the road and he had...he had passed away. I found your letter, and I just wanted you to know what happened, but then…”

Hyungwon is blinking at him, brow furrowing more and more as the words sink in. Minhyuk swallows down a sob and looks back down. 

“Everyone thought I was him, and when I tried to correct the guard, he was running off, and then when I tried to correct you, you begged me to help you, and how could I have said no to that? Of course I would have offered my help regardless, but not under this false title. Not as the Great Wizard of San-do. But that’s who you thought I was, and I thought I’d be gone in a day, so what would it matter if you didn’t know the truth, right? But then...but then…”

“You stayed. And it mattered a great deal,” Hyungwon says. 

Minhyuk sniffs and shuts his eyes. 

“I never meant for this to happen. I never meant to lie to you or hurt you or anything, but I did. Everything got away from me, and we fell in love, and I was selfish and a fool, but I can’t...I can’t do it anymore. This is eating me alive, your highness.”

Hyungwon grabs his face and makes him look at him. His eyes are a bit watery, but he looks calm. No anger in them. 

“I told you to call me Hyungwon,” he says softly. 

Minhyuk sputters out a wet little laugh before he pulls away. 

“I don’t deserve--”

“Did you or did you not save my father that day?” Hyungwon asks.

Minhyuk blinks at him. “I did but--”

“And do you or do you not search for his culprits every single day?”

“I...I do?”

“And can you or can you not complete one hundred different magical feats?”

Minhyuk frowns. “I don’t--”

“Because when I looked through your spellbooks with you, I counted. I counted how many you had checked off as having mastered. And there were quite a few more than a hundred.”

Minhyuk blinks at him. 

“And I’m assuming the other things you told me were true? You were born a poor boy in San-do, and did your apprenticeship in Haoh. You lived a happy life traveling around after you buried your parents in the grassy hills.”

“Yes, of course--”

“And you love me,” Hyungwon says. 

It isn’t a question, but Minhyuk answers it anyway.    
“I do. So much.”

Hyungwon shrugs. “As far as I am concerned, you are the Great Wizard of San-do. You’ve completed those magical feats, you lived there for a good part of your life, and you answered my letter and saved the king.”

Minhyuk stares at him. 

“Hyungwon--”

“I told you that none of that matters to me. I fell in love with you. The Minhyuk who told me he would do what he could to help my father. The Minhyuk that stayed around well past the time he got his reward. The Minhyuk that would ask how we were doing and how we felt and genuinely cared about the answer. The Minhyuk that actually listened to me and my silly stories and would show me magic when you didn’t have to. I didn’t care that you were the Great Wizard. It was just another facet of you to me.”

Minhyuk shakes and stares. He can’t find the words. He can’t find anything at all except for Hyungwon’s hands in his and his gentle voice in his ears. 

“So you’re not the Great Wizard of San-do that I wrote the letter to, but you’re the Great Wizard of San-do that answered the letter, and, honestly, I appreciate the one that came much more than anyone else,” Hyungwon says. 

“You aren’t angry?” 

Hyungwon snorts and shakes his head. 

“It hurts me more that you thought you were trapped than the fact that you are only kind of the Great Wizard of San-do.”

“I wasn’t trapped. I didn’t want to leave, and I thought if I told you the truth, I wouldn’t be welcome here anymore.”

“At the end of the day, you’re still the man I fell in love with. With or without a title.”

Minhyuk huffs out a little laugh, but he feels the tears fall down his face. A mixture of confusion, disbelief, and sweet wonderful relief. Hyungwon pouts as he wipes at his face before he pulls him close and wraps his arms around him. 

“I love you too,” Minhyuk whispers out as he clutches at him, burying his face in his shoulder. Hyungwon lets him cry there for a while, just holding him and kissing at the side of his face. And in the quiet space of his workshop, all he can hear is Hyungwon’s voice murmuring about love. 

“We have something to tell you, father,” Hyungwon says. 

Minhyuk stands next to him, hands folded together in front of him, trying not to feel so nervous as the king looks up from the papers on his desk. He smiles kindly as he looks over them.

“Oh? And what is it, Hyungwon?” the king asks. 

_ Hells, he already knows. _

“Minhyuk and I...there is more between us than just friendship,” Hyungwon says, and he’s so confident. 

The king grins. “Is there?”

Minhyuk swallows. “Yes, your majesty. I…I absolutely adore your son, and I would like to pursue this relationship with your blessing.”

The king’s grin only grows. 

“I was wondering how long it would be before you told me,” he says. 

Hyungwon actually seems shocked, but Minhyuk just sputters out a laugh. 

“You knew?” Hyungwon asks.

“Of course. I know everything that happens in my castle.”

“And you aren’t upset?” Minhyuk asks.

The king leans back in his chair. He looks at him before he looks at Hyungwon. 

“Does he make you happy?” the king asks. 

Hyungwon smiles a bit and nods. 

The king shrugs, smile growing. 

“As long as you are happy, I have no reason to be upset. Thank you for finally telling me though,” the king says. 

“Why didn’t you ask?” Hyungwon asks.

“I thought it was sweet! You running around and hiding in hallways and at the fishpond. As if me and your mother weren’t doing the same thing a long time ago.”

“Ugh, stop,” Hyungwon says, and the king just chuckles. 

“Your majesty, I actually had something else to speak with you about,” Minhyuk says. 

This is what he is truly dreading. The king looks surprised, honestly, but he nods and gestures to the chair in front of his desk. Minhyuk takes a deep breath and sits down. 

“I’ll wait outside,” Hyungwon says. He squeezes Minhyuk’s shoulder before he slips out of the room, closing the door behind him. 

“What do you wish to speak with me about? You’re not already planning on proposing are you?” the king asks. 

Minhyuk smiles and shakes his head. “No, your majesty, nothing like that.”

“Then what is troubling you?”

_ Deep breath in, then out. _

“Your majesty, when Hyungwon first introduced us, he got something wrong. I--”

“Are not the Great Wizard of San-do,” the king says. 

Minhyuk’s jaw drops, and the king smiles a bit. Still kind. 

“Funny thing, ser wizard, I had met your predecessor once before. He was ancient. Far older than any man I had ever met before, and that was when Hyungwon was only about the size of a loaf of bread.”

Minhyuk blinks at him.

“You knew,” Minhyuk says. 

The king shrugs. “You never tried to claim the title. Hyungwon put it on you. I figured he must have sent you in his place or something, but you are a capable wizard yourself, so I didn’t mind.”

“Oh.”

“But that is your title now. Unless you want to be the Great Wizard of Hae-do instead. I’m assuming you would like to stay here until you have caught the great dark magic culprit at least.”

Minhyuk sighs and sinks down into the chair. 

“It is. And I guess I would have to consider that.”

“Either way, I appreciate you wanting to tell the truth. Clear the air, so to speak.”

Minhyuk nods as the king smiles and looks back down at his papers. 

“Now, if you don’t mind I really do need to look over these,” he says.

“Of course! Sorry for taking up your time, your majesty,” Minhyuk says as he stands up. 

The king just smiles and waves him away, and Minhyuk bows as he makes his way out of the room, closing the door behind him. 

“So?” Hyungwon asks. 

Minhyuk smiles at him, and Hyungwon smiles back before he laughs and grabs his face and kisses him. Minhyuk smiles and kisses him back. 

“See? I told you it would all work out. Now we don’t have to worry about this. We can just focus on the important things.”

“I still need to catch the person that hurt your father,” Minhyuk says. 

“That is true. But in the meantime, now we don’t have to hide in corridors and behind trees,” Hyungwon says. 

Minhyuk smiles and pulls him closer again. 

“No, we don’t.”

Hyungwon giggles until Minhyuk silences him with a kiss, and he feels free from all the lies and issues of the past year. Now it was just him and Hyungwon together, no falsehoods. No substitutes. 

“I love you,” Hyungwon whispers against him. 

“I love you too,” Minhyuk answers. 

And not even dark magic could bring Minhyuk down.   
  


**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!!


End file.
